Check-punch



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. P. J. LOGKWOOD.

CHECK PUNCH. No. 433,176. Patented July 29, 1890.

| u F1 ulll 1 wp/ms'sz s [Mal I02 (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

F. J. LOOKWOOD.

CHECK PUNCH.

No. 438,176. Patented July 29, 1890.

Milli- 1.; llin a Ill! UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK J. LOCKWOOD, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

CHECK-PUNCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 433,176, dated July 29, 1890.

Application filed January 8, 1890- Serial No. 336611. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK J. LOCK- WOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Check- Iunches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to so improve the construction of check-punches that the number of parts and the cost of construction shall be greatly reduced, the possibility of the deviceunder ordinary circumstances getting out of repair shall be wholly avoided, and, furthermore, to so construct and arrange the parts that when a check is inserted the lower edge thereof will pass under the head and the movement be directly toward the operator, both the check and the indicating-numerals on the head being at all times right side up, and the movement of the head in punching being in a straight line instead of in an are, thereby avoiding a serious objection to punches of the latter type. I11 order to accomplish these results I have devised the simple and novel construction, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, numbers being used to denote the several parts.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device complete; Fig. 2, a plan View; Fig. 3, a central longitudinal section; Fig. l, a transverse section on the line a: a; in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a plan view of the outer end of the stripper detached; and Fig. (3 is a plan view of the die detached.

1 denotes the base, which is preferably cast in a single piece and provided with vertical and transverse cross-pieces to add strength thereto and to support certain of the operative parts, which are preferably placed within the base and Wholly out of sight.

2 denotes the punches carried by a rotating head 3, which is made integral with or rigidly secured to a shank at. This shank rotates within a holder 5, made integral with or rigidly secured to a shank 6, which extends down through the top plate of the base and through one of the cross-pieces, as clearly shownin Fig.1. The lower end of the shank is reduced, as at 7, and is surrounded by a spring 8, the upper end of which bears upon the main portion of the shank and the lower end upon the eross-piece of the base, so as to retain the holder and head at a raised posi tion.

9 denotes a stop or stops upon shank 6,

which engage the top of the base to .limit the if preferred. The punches themselves maybe of the ordinary or any preferred construction. I preferably make the punches to consist of series of rods so placed as to punch out from a check or other piece of paper series of holes, each series of rods being so arranged that the serics of holes produced thereby will be in the outline of one of the numerals or characters required to be cut.

The rods constituting the punches may be secured to the head in any suitable manner, as by driving or screwing into holes in the head or by attaching to plates and securing the plates thereto. These, being well-known means of attachment, are not deemed to require illustration. The back edge of the head is preferablybeveled downward and outward, as at 11, each of the beveled sides bearing a numeral or character corresponding with the numeral or character cut by one of the punches. As the punches act downward and it is required that the corresponding numerals should be at the top, it follows that the numeral corresponding to each punch must be directly opposite thereto. For example, if the numeral 1 is at the top, the punch to cut the numeral 1 will be at the bottom. If it is desired to cut out the numeral 4, the head is turned by means of the knob to place the numerall at the top, which will place the punch to out the numeral 4 at the bottom, at which moment, of course, the character zero will show at the bottom, and the punch to cut zero will be at the top.

As shown in Fig. 4, the holder is provided with fiat vertical sides, and guides 12 are provided on opposite sides thereof to insure that the movement of the holder and head in use shall be perfectly true and without looseness or sidemotion. These guides are preferably formed integral with a plate 13, which is screwed to the base, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2. Directly under the punch that is in operative position is a die 14. Thisdie is provided with a series of holes so located as to register with the rods composing each and all of the punches used in cutting out the different numerals and characters. This die is recessed in the top of the base and ordinarily secured thereto by screws. I have shown the metal of the base removed under the die, so that the pieces of paper punched out by the rods in cutting the numerals and characters will drop down into the base. Directly over the bed is a stripper 15, having an opening 16, which registers with the die and the punch that is in operative position. On opposite sides of this opening are openings 17, which permit the check to be seen to assist in placing it accurately, and which also receive the lower edges of the punches on opposite sides of the punch that is operating. This stripper is provided with cars 18, which are pivoted to corresponding ears projecting upward from the base. At the outer end of the stripper is an upper feed-roller 19, and at the rear end thereof I place one or inoresprings 20, which act to raise the rear end, thereby holding the upper feed-roller down upon the lower feedroller, as clearly shown. In order to hold these springs in position, I preferably provide pins 21 on the under side of the stripper at the rear end. The lower ends of these pins extend down into the base, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

22 denotes the lower feed-roller, which is carried by a shaft 23, j ournaled in the base, and one of the vertical cross-pieces underneath the top, the upper edge of said roller extending through an opening 24' and lying slightly above the top. At the inner end of shaft 23 is a ratchet 25. At the lower end of shank 6 of the holder isa plate 26, which limits the upward movement of the shank and holder when raised by spring 8 after the downward movement in punching, and which is provided at its inner end with a strong spring 27, which projects upward through a hole in the horizontal cross-piece and engages the ratchet. i

The feeding operation is as follows: hen the head and holder are pressed down, it follows that the end of spring 27 will be pressed downward from the position shown in Fig. 4. It will be noticed that in this position of the parts spring 27 is bent slightly to the right, so that when it passes downward off the tooth lowed closel b the dollar-mark a ain.

upon which it is shown as bearing it will move inward slightly, so that in the upward movement "it must necessarily" engage the tooth below the one with which it is engaged in Fig. 4, thereby imparting rotary movement to the lower feed-roller and feeding the check forward to the proper position for the next punch to operate.

28 is a spring secured on the under side of the base, the forward end of which engages the ratchet to prevent backward movement thereof when spring 27 is moved downward in the act of punching.

29 is a lever on the top of the holder, the forward end of which is adapted to engage lightly with openings 30 in the back of the head. This lever is pivoted between side pieces 31, which are made integral with or rigidly secured to the top of the holder.

32 denotes an upwardly-curved spring, the rear end of which is riveted to the top of the holder, its forward end lying under the rear end of the lever and acting-to tilt the rear end and to force the forward end downward into engagement with one of the openings 30 in the back of the head. This spring-actu ated engagement of the lever with the openings is quite strong enough to lock the head in position, so that the punches must accurately register with the opening in the stripper and with the die, but at the same time the spring will yield and permit the head to be turned by means of the knobin changing the punches.

The operation of the entire device is as follows: It is of course well understood that it is customary first to punch the dollar-character, then numerals indicating the number of dollars for which the check is drawn, fol- For example, suppose a check to be drawn for sixty-three dollars. The operator first presses down the stripper against the power of springs 20, which raises the upper feed-roller and permits the insertion of the check under the head; He then turns the knob to place the dollar-mark at the top and lock it there by means of spring-actuated lever20. It is then pressed down and the dollar-mark punched in the check. As the head, holder, &c., are raised by spring 8, the check is fed forward by the action of spring 27 and the ratchet. The operator. then turns the head to place numeral 6 at the top and lock it there. The head is then pressed down again and the check is again fed forward by the upward movement. The operator then places the numeral 3 at the top and presses down again, and finally places the dollar-mark at the top and presses down. This completes the punching of the check. It will of course be understood that each time the head and holder are raised the stripper will act to hold the check in posit-ion and prevent it from being lifted by the punch. After the punching of a check is completed the operator presses'down the rear end of the stripper, which lifts the upper feed-roller and permits the withdrawal of the check. If a numeral or zero is to be repeated, the operation is the same, except that the operator does not have to turn the head to change the punch. I'Ieretofore, so far as I am aware, punches of this class have been so constructed and arranged that the upper edge of the check has been passed in under the head and the movement has been away from the operator, so that the check was punched in the upper edge, it being impossible to push the check in far enough to permit of its being punched below the center thereof. This has led to the raising of checks by deftly cutting them in two and affixing to the portion bearing the signature another portion having a different amount written thereon. It will be noticed that the construction of my novel punch is such as to permit the lower edge of the check to be passed under the head, so that the lower edge of the check is punched instead of the upper edge, sufficient room being provided, moreover, so that almost the entire width of the cheek may be passed in under the head. In practice the operator stands at the right, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and at the front, as seen in Fig. 4c. The check is passed in from the front with the lower edge toward the operator. It will be noticed that having once placed the check in position to be punched it does not require to be moved in the slightest, the only movement being the rotation of the head to place consecutively at the top the characters corresponding to the characters which it is desired to punch in the check,and then to press the head down, but one hand being required in use, and it being unnecessary to remove the hand from the knob.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination, with a base having a die, of a holder having a vertical shank extending downward into the base a spring within the base acting to retain the holder at the raised position, a rotating head having a series of punches adapted to register with the die, and a shank extending longitudinally through the holder and having a knob at its outer end for convenience in rotating the head.

2. The combination, with a base having a die, of a holder having a vertical shank extending downward into the base, a spring within the base acting to retain the holder at the raised position, a rotating head having a series of punches adapted to register with the die, a shank extending longitudinally through the holder and having a knob at its outer end for convenience in rotating the head, and guides on opposite sides of the holder to prevent lateral movement. in use.

3. The combination, with the base having a die, of a rotating head carrying a series of punches, a holder therefor having a shank extending downward into the base, a plate at the lower end of said shank having a spring 27, a pair of feed-rollers, one of which is journaled in the base and is provided with a ratchet engaged by spring 27, and a spring 8, adapted to raise the holder and punch to the normal position, so that when the holder is pressed down the punch will engage a check, and when the pressure is removed spring 8 will raise the holder and punch and spring 27 will engage the ratchet, thereby actuating the feed-rollers to feed the check forward in position to receive the next blow of the punch.

4. The combination, with the base having a die and a lower feed-rollerhaving a ratchet upon its shaft, of a stripper pivoted to the top of the base and having an upper feedroller at one end and a spring at the opposite end adapted to hold the upper feed-roller in contact with the lower, a rotary head having a series of punches, a holder thereforhaving a shank extending into the base, a plate at the lower end of said shank, a spring 8 acting to raise the holder, and a spring 27, projecting upward from the plate which engages the ratchet to actuate the feed-rollers when the holder and head are moved upward.

5. The combination, with the base having a die, of a vertically-movable holder having a shank 6 engaging the base, a spring within the base acting to retain the holder at the raised position, a rotating head at the forward end of the holder having a series of punches and on its back edge numerals corresponding therewith, and a shank 4, carrying the head and provided with a knob, so that in use a check may be inserted from the front with the lower edge toward the operator and may be punched at the lower edge thereof.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK J. LOOKlVOOD. Witnesses:

A. M. WoosTER, ARLEY I. MUNsoN. 

